A Work Experience Blog
by Ed Hennell-Cole

When the news at school came in late 2015 that next year our whole year group would be spending a week working in summer, I was only moderately excited. Sure, the idea of going somewhere and getting a taste for how it feels to be in work was something that I thought would be great for me, but at the same time I also had no idea where I would ask to have me. I didn’t know what I was interested in; and I was quite frankly scared to pick up the phone and enter the real world of work. So, I naturally I asked my mum where I should go to work, and she recommended Pentabus. At this point, I already knew that some of my friends had got their placements together and knew exactly where they going, and in some cases what they wanted to do when they left education. Going to garages, accountancy firms, technology companies and even an ice-cream shop in Sweden, the pressure was on to find something interesting, and I felt that Pentabus was just right for me.

On my first day, I got to the Pentabus HQ not really knowing what I’d actually be doing, after reading over my plan for the week and deciding I’d just do as I was told. It wasn’t like that though, despite having a list of tasks to do, I was also shown through each one by Crayg, who would explain everything from the database to even where to find unwaxed lemons during our ‘quest’ in Ludlow on the Thursday afternoon. The experience as a whole has been so different to how I expected it to be, but feeling being a part of the Pentabus Team has been extremely rewarding for me, both in what I have learnt, and the work I have done.

I would seriously recommend applying for an Internship here to anyone that has any interest in theatre, writing or the arts in general. It’s such an amazingly relaxed, friendly and productive place to work, not to mention the wonderful people.

Throughout the week I was doing a wide range of tasks, from updating databases, importing mail lists, creating content for sections of the website, scheduling posts for the company’s social media accounts or even making renovations to the Passport props made by another Intern before me. I learnt so much during each of these, about nearly every aspect of the company, how it appeals to the audience and how it functions. I’ve loved every hour here, and wouldn’t nearly have enjoyed myself as much at the other places suggested by my school. Even if you think you’re not capable of working in a theatre company, there’s always something for you to do. Pentabus has helped me develop a clearer idea of what I can do, and what I’d like to do in the future. I’m sad to have finished, but am also excited to see Eat the Poor by Johnny and the Baptists (of which I had made an A Board for earlier in the week). Even while I’m writing this, Elizabeth and I are waiting for a batch of lemonade to finish and be taken to From Land to Mouth in Penrith. If this isn’t a clear example of just how vast the work here is, and how much goes into making the company what it is today, then I don’t know what is. I will certainly fondly remember my time here, and definitely plan on coming back for any productions shown here in the future. Thank you to everyone on the Pentabus Team for having me this week, and giving me the work that you did (not that I was expecting the whole week to consist of making tea, as per most work experience students), which has definitely taught me things I couldn’t possibly learn anywhere else. Pentabus really is something special, and something that I’m sure will be here for years to come. I hope that both Latitude and Last Journey went amazingly, and to see everyone soon.